


questionable goods

by sunflower_drop



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, again no beta, heres some more first draft bs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 05:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20420873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_drop/pseuds/sunflower_drop
Summary: The dealer shows you a greyish brown sheaf of sealskin with a strong musty smell. It smells like a mixture of body odor and . . . myrrh. "This is the Scourge's loin cloth."It takes everything in you to not blush seventeen different shades of red and splutter like an absolute buffoon.AKA the red market scene in Julian's route but with Muriel





	questionable goods

*thoughts are _italicized _

* * *

Chasing down Lucio took you and Muriel to a place that neither of you ever thought you two would see: the Coliseum. “I can’t sense him anymore, Muriel,” you sigh. You wait for Muriel to say something in response, but nothing can be heard apart from your own breaths. "Muriel?" Turning to him, you can see him shaking and crying violently. Immediately, you forget about your own fatigue and attempt to calm him down. _ Idiot, Lucio took you here for a reason . . . He knows what this place means to Muriel._

"Muriel," you whisper to him, "can you hear me?" 

"Go away!" he yells. He's told you a multitude of times to leave him, but this one is different. His voice is filled with so much anger and sadness that it breaks your own heart. 

"No." You never liked to push his boundaries, but you couldn't let him just retreat back into his shell and shut the world out again. “Muriel, you _won't_ hurt me. You haven’t, and you won’t. You don’t-”

“Can’t you see? I’m an _animal_! I-I can’t control myself!” 

Before you can say any more, Muriel runs away, towards an entrance in the ground. You quickly follow him, making sure to never let him out of your sight. As you enter the unknown area, you recognize it as a market. It’s cast in red light due to the red lanterns littering every corner, yet the darkness is prevalent enough to make it difficult to see anything but silhouettes and flashes of metals. 

Letting your attention wander for a moment too long, you lose Muriel in the shadows. _ How did I lose a nearly 7-foot man in the manner of seconds? _ Your eyes race the surrounding area for any clues of where he could have gone. As you jog down the market, searching for any sign of Muriel, you prod the air for his aura. 

Feeling a faint jolt, you come to a halt in front of a small, rickety table with a sign labeled "Memory Dealer." You hesitate to ask the dealer of Muriel's whereabouts, but the thought of him being alone with his terrible memories attacking him is enough to waive the doubts. "Excuse me but have you seen a very tall man with short black hair and green eyes? He's wearing a black cloak, ragged black pelt, and black pants." 

"Sounds like you're talking about the Scourge of the South!" His mischievous eyes glisten with curiosity.

_ I knew this was a bad idea._ "Who?" you feign ignorance. "Sorry, I'm not from around here."

Luckily, you are convincing enough to dispel his interest in regards to your "friend," but he seems to have a different play in mind. "Ahh, the Scourge is our famed executioner back when the Coliseum was in full action. He was undefeated, slaughtering anyone who dared stepped into the arena!"

A part of you twitches with anger at his words. You know better than to correct him, but you still argue with him in your mind. _ He didn't want to do any of those cruel things! Imagine your legacy being that of a coldhearted killer when you are the kindest, gentlest person to ever grace this realm._ Shaking off your resentment, you remember that you're in front of his table for a reason. Refocusing your attention, you can clearly feel part of Muriel's aura. If the dealer hasn't seen him, then it must mean the dealer has something belonging to Muriel. "Oh, how intriguing! Say, you wouldn't happen to have any . . . past relics of his here?"

His eyes light up again at the prospect of making a quick deal. "Why only the finest of trinkets! Usually, I reserve these for no casual fan, but I may part with these items . . . for a price."

"If it's gold you're after, I will spare no expense if something piques my interest."

His smirk widens at the mention of gold and begins to take out a knife. "What if I told you this is the Scourge’s personal blade? How many ill-fated necks have split upon it?”

You feel sick to your stomach at the sight of it, but you remember that if Muriel was an executioner, then he wouldn't use a knife. It would be more likely for him to use an axe. "No deal."

"Ah, you caught me. The Scourge was never equipped with such meager weapons. This may be of more interest to you." The dealer shows you a greyish brown sheaf of sealskin with a strong musty smell. It smells like a mixture of body odor and . . . myrrh. "This is the Scourge's loin cloth." 

It takes everything in you to not blush seventeen different shades of red and splutter like an absolute buffoon. _ If that's really Muriel's, then it means it's touched _\- "Hm, this does intrigue me . . ." you trail off, giving yourself a moment to breathe before you hurl all over the dealer's table. "May I hold it?" He gives it to you, unaware of the mental battle you were having with yourself.

It feels so wrong in your hands as if you had just violated Muriel's entire being. You shake off the guilt and attempt to find any remnants of his aura. Unfortunately, you couldn't sense anything. Even so, a part of you wanted to keep the loincloth for some unknown reason. You're about to tell the dealer no deal again, but something in you tells you to buy it. Asra _did _say to trust your intuition more. "I'll think about this one, but for now, do you have anything else?"

He looks a bit conflicted, and you can instantly tell that he's hiding something; possibly saving it for non-casual fans who will offer up all of their riches. Luckily, Nadia had paid you in advance for your services. After refusing meals and the finest of clothing, she settled for paying you in bags of gold. Though part of you still wanted to refuse, Nadia looked so stressed out over trying to please you with anything that you just had to accept the payment. You pull out almost all of the gold in your satchel and slam it onto the table. "As I said, I will spare no expense if there is something I desire." 

The dealer immediately scrambles, attempting to find whatever it is he was holding out on you before handing you a boar bristle brush. “This was his. Genuine article. You can still see the hairs. Do we have a deal now?” 

Looking at the hairs, you can tell it's Muriel's. _ I guess those hours of staring at him paid off._ To make sure, you check for his aura and are met with a small but tangible amount of energy that is unmistakably his. "You can have all of the gold on the table for both this brush and the loincloth." 

"Deal!" the dealer shouts, quickly scooping up the gold before you can even think about changing your mind. You hide the loincloth in your pocket, still embarrassed that you bought it. You reason with yourself that it would be dangerous for anyone else to get their hands on these items since it would allow them to track Muriel down, but you know damn well that the loincloth was a much more personal purchase. 

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this in my drafts for weeks, but i never finished it since then so i thought that maybe if i posted it i could finally finish it. fingers crossed! 
> 
> also i'm writing this instead of my essay, so . . . please pay me in comments :)


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